Category: Travel

Ahhhh, the holidays. ‘Tis the season for families to reunite and exchange hugs and gifts. Long-lost sons and daughters will be returning home from college or out of town to enjoy a much appreciated home-cooked meal. This may be you, and this may mean you’ll be hopping on a plane in the weeks to come.

But what to wear?

The dress code for flying has changed over the years. Flying was once a special occasion that required formal attire. But with the stress of holiday travel, airport security, flight delays and cramped cabin seating, those high heels and nylons may loose their appeal when you start to blister and itch.

Courtesy of People Stylewatch, we’ve got some great pics of celebs who, though having to travel frequently, manage to maintain their star quality and style when everything’s up in the air.

Above, I like how Ashlee Simpson’s look is so basic yet still a statement by topping it all off with a chic hat. Meanwhile, New Moon cutie Ashley Greene pairs an elegant faux fur jacket with skinny blue jeans for a warm and casual look. Rihanna keeps her cool with a stylin’ black cap and funky work boots.

Taking hints from all these styles, my most put-together outfit for air travel would have to be: an oversized top, like the Euclidean Space Top by Brandy Melville [sold out!], skinny Kill City Jeans with stylish detailing, and a cute ladies fedora to top it all off. All this paired with shades will have you fightin’ off the paparazzi like a star.

Now if you want to take flight the old-fashioned way, just take a look at Mad Men star John Hamm and burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese. These two take the cake when it comes to style. Go them!

This past week, I attended a private viewing of East London Boys, the latest exhibit by hot new photographer Jacopo J Moschin. At only 22 years old, he has had a lot of success here in Milan.

His latest exhibit was focused on the contemporary masculine image. The photographs portrayed the youth that has been influenced by “cultural creativity and originality.” I was lucky enough to have a chat with him and ask him a few questions about his work!

So how long have you been doing photography professionally?

I would say about two and a half years. I’m new to the scene, but then again I am also very young.

I think the subject matter is very interesting. What would you say influenced you more: the different fashions of men’s clothes, or the attitude and personalities of the “London Boys”?

Well, what I found interesting was, if we look at the 70’s, 80’s and even 90’s punks and rockers they had their set styles. But these aren’t necessarily punks, they can look like this one day and can look totally different the next, I wanted to capture that.

It was an interesting show; the portraits gave an aura of wonder, as if you really wanted to get to know the subject’s story. And for anyone interested in men’s fashions, this was a perfect display of new trends.

Personally, I think he is right on the money with the theory that today’s men have this opportunity to express themselves though fashion, but not let this expression define them (as it once did). Moschin also admitted that he prefers working with real film, even though it might be pricey, he would rather spend the money than work digital.

Aside from this new and exciting work, he has had a lot of previous experience in fashion photography. If you want to see more from Jacopo J Moschin, you should check out his website. He is also featured as the cover story in H Magazine, Issue 107.

So, guys, here is news fresh from our fashion fabulous reporter Megan Jones in Milan, Italy! This week, Megan tells us how and why you should go go go study abroad at the first chance you get!

Thanks for the introduction Siobhan!

As mentioned, I’m living in Milan this year on an exchange. For anyone interested in studying abroad/exchanging, I have only one tip:

GO, and don’t turn back.

This has been an experience of a lifetime so far — nothing that you could experience on a vacation or backpacking trip. So just do it! (Oh, and FYI, there are plenty of opportunities for extra scholarships to go! The Gilman International Scholarship is one.)

The school I attend in Milan is NABA; it’s completely different from Pratt, and other schools in the U.S., for that matter. You just have to be optimistic and take everything as it comes. The way the Europeans approach design is totally different! I’m glad I have the opportunity to experience both.

Pratt is an AMAZING school; it is very serious about deadlines, and the amount and quality of student work is unbelievable. NABA, on the other hand, focuses on developing their students’ creative processes … a lot of thinking and not as many assignments, but the time spent on projects is hardly less.

What should you expect when arriving in Milan?

Well, if you ask, most Italians think Milan is not their best city. They prefer Rome or Florence. For me, Milan is the perfect balance of the Italian culture and a busy industrial city, and don’t forget the great FASHION (which Rome lacks in comparison … to me, it’s too touristy). Milan’s nightlife is also great — the Milanese know how to party.

What you should be warned about:

Some think it is not all that clean, but who looks down? Just look at the people passing you by; it’s more interesting! Milan also has tons of graffiti. Some are just bad scribbles, but on the flip side, there is a lot of really cool street art that is worth looking out for.

The siesta time: Virtually everything (that is not close to the Domo) is closed for lunch time. This can be an inconvenience and a hard adjustment, coming from the land of 24-hour drugstores. And for the Americans — the exchange rate will get you!

And now presenting MEGAN JONES, our new voice from abroad on all topics concerning fashion, traveling, and living life to the fullest! Megan studies fashion design at Pratt Institute, but is currently on exchange at Nuova Accademica di Belli Arti, in Milan, Italy. Megan admits that she “has become addicted to traveling and loves experiencing new cultures.”

I met Megan during my last year at Pratt. At that time, Megan had already interned for Flip Dress(she is just now a junior!), an evening dress company and Marianne Novobatzky, a courtier in NYC. She had also worked as an assistant to the Fashion Department at Pratt Institute.

At the time, Megan was interested in studying abroad and wanted to hear first-hand accounts of what it was like. I would tell her tales from my Milan experience while I worked on my senior collection in the studio. Soon enough, she had gotten accepted to go abroad and now, well, she already speaks eats and breathes Italian!

We are going to be hearing from Megan as much and as often as she wants to reveal her style, fashion, and traveling finds with us! So stay tuned and keep posted on our blog to see what our new Lulus.com traveling fashionista finds for us!

Galleries and exhibitions are my favorite pastime. When I travel, I try to hook up with as many art openings as possible, and I have been known to spend an entire day at a single museum.

Anyway, I have been thinking about Sweden a lot lately … a possible trip is in sight … and as I have been searching through the many links and sites of up and coming Swedish artists I found the Loyal Gallery.

Now located in Malmö, Sweden, the Loyal Gallery is a group of people committed to serving up an ongoing stream of the newest of the new artists in the coolest of ways. They throw parties and gallery exhibitions that include everything from panoramic art sculptures, oil paintings, photographs, costumes, etc. This group of artists and art lovers has also created the Loyal Magazine for updates and articles.

Here are paintings from a few of the artists that I really enjoyed checking out! There is a trend toward a neon outlook on violent or manual everyday tasks… its as if children were painting or as if a child got ahold of an oil painting and added the brilliant hues to their satisfaction…..

All in all, I find the Woop Dee Doo parties that the Loyal Gallery hosts the most exciting. They seem to have everything from hula hooper, plays, and bands playing wildly colorfully music to vegetable eating contests! This group of young adults and artists seem to have gone against tradition by creating an upbeat atmosphere around the art scene instead of the famously dark, arts scene.